New Delhi, Apr 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that Indians must change their lifestyle to be able to think of ways of reducing carbon emissions while launching the national air quality index in New Delhi.
Modi was speaking at inauguration of two-day conference of state environment and forest ministers.
"We are trying to think of ways of reducing carbon emissions, but we are not thinking of changing our lifestyle. Unless we bring a change in our lifestyle, we will not be able to save the environment," said Modi.
"Environment protection and development can go hand in hand," he said.
The PM's comments came a day after a forecast by System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), a body under the ministry of earth science, predicted that air quality in the Capital will sharply deteriorate next week because of a dust storm due to hit the city and Mumbai on Monday.
The PM said recycling and reusing have long been practised in India and have not been borrowed from outside.
"We must think of traditional methods to tackle environmental issues. There can be green solutions in our age-old traditions."
Modi said the world thinks India doesn't care about environment and Indians must strive to change that.
He said Indians must be sensitive towards the nature and environment so that the world has a lesser chance of raising questions about India's contribution in tackling global warming.
"We have been brought up in a nation where environment protection is connected with human sentiments and nature is considered next to god," said Modi.
"Until we actually bring a change in our lifestyles, all the other efforts will go in vain."
A World Health Organization (WHO) study of 1,600 cities released in May found New Delhi had the world's dirtiest air with an annual average of 153 micrograms of small particulates, known as PM2.5, per cubic metre.
Thirteen of the dirtiest 20 cities worldwide were in India, the WHO said. India rejected the report.
The new index, launched as part of Modi's 'Clean India Mission', will provide one consolidated number after tracking eight pollutants and will use colour coding to describe associated health impacts.
Currently, India's air quality status is reported through "voluminous data", the government said. This makes it difficult for people to understand particle names such as PM2.5 or PM10.
Air pollution killed about seven million people in 2012, making it the world's single biggest environmental health risk, the WHO, a United Nations agency, said in March.
Hyderabad, Feb 10: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi continued his tirade against PM Modi and Amit Shah against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). "We are ready to take bullets in our chests but we will not show our papers.
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